


The Trials of Beast Island

by archiveofourscone



Series: Beast Island [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra learns a bit more about herself, F/F, First Kiss, Post Season Theory, Rescue Missions, Scorpia and Adora team up, Scorpia and Sea Hawk are bros, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 14:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18662671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiveofourscone/pseuds/archiveofourscone
Summary: Catra wakes up again in a cell.Shadow Weaver’s cell.She feels disoriented, and when she tries to pull herself up off the floor, her arms are weak, and she falls right back down to the floor.“On your feet,” a voice says, and Catra turns her head to see Octavia standing in front of her cell, her lips pulled into a wicked smirk. “I have orders from Lord Hordak to send you to Beast Island,” Octavia says, “Effective immediately.”Catra gets sent to Beast Island for lying to Hordak, and Scorpia will do anything she can to save her best friend, even ask the Rebellion for help.





	The Trials of Beast Island

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, hello, and welcome to my first attempt at writing She-Ra fanfic!
> 
> This idea was in my head after that freaking cliffhanger, and then about 17,000 words later, here this is.
> 
> Enjoy!

Catra can’t breathe. It’s like the air around her is completely sucked out, and she can only barely listen to Hordak as she desperately tries to take a deep breath.

All she hears before she sees black is, “This was a test, and you failed.” The last thing she sees is Hordak’s red eyes looking down on her.

She wakes up again in a cell.

Shadow Weaver’s cell.

She feels disoriented, and when she tries to pull herself up off the floor, her arms are weak, and she falls right back down to the floor.

 _Why am I alive?_ Catra thinks, rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling, _I didn’t think I was going to be alive._

It didn’t seem like Hordak was going to have any mercy. He pulled the lever without any remorse, and he even bent down to watch her struggle for air.

The fact that she’s alive probably meant there is something bad coming for her soon.

And she has no way of escaping.

Catra doesn’t know how long she stares up at the ceiling, but it seems like a long time. Her body hurts too much to do anything besides lay there, so she counts the tiles, and then she counts them again, and then again, before she hears someone come up to the screen of her cell.

“On your feet,” the voice says, and Catra turns her head to see Octavia standing in front of her cell, her lips pulled into a wicked smirk.

Even without knowing what’s about to happen, Catra can already tell this isn’t going to go well for her. Octavia never liked her, especially not after the whole taking-out-her-eye incident (and it certainly didn’t help that she got Adora to call her a dumb face), and with that smirk, Catra only assumes Octavia is about to enjoy this.

“My body isn’t exactly cooperating,” Catra says lazily, “Come back when it does.”

Sarcasm probably isn’t her best bet, but if she’s going down, she’s going down noncompliant. 

The screen blinks out, and Octavia comes into the cell and picks Catra up by her collar. Every limb in Catra’s body protests the movement, and she claws at Octavia’s wrist in an attempt to get Octavia to let her go.

“I have orders from Lord Hordak to send you to Beast Island,” Octavia says, “Effective immediately.” She seems to take pleasure in being the one to carry out Hordak’s orders.

Beast Island. It was meant to be Shadow Weaver’s punishment, and Catra is sure Hordak finds some sick irony in it being her fate now. He thinks Catra was the one to let Shadow Weaver go, and now Catra will be sent off to an essential death sentence for her mistake and dishonesty.

Octavia drops Catra and secures cuffs around Catra’s wrists and ankles before leading her from the cell.

~*~

Scorpia can’t believe it when she hears the news. Everybody is talking about it.

Catra, Hordak’s second-in-command, is being sent off to Beast Island for allowing Shadow Weaver to escape.

She doesn’t believe it the first time she hears it. 

She grabs the nearest cadet with her claws, “What did you just say?”

“Force Captain Catra is being sent to Beast Island,” he replied, voice a bit shaky from fear, “Apparently Hordak figured out she was a traitor.”

Scorpia sets the Cadet down gently before running off in the direction of Catra’s room. 

Everything was still as she remembered it. Papers are strewn around the room and Catra’s thin blue blanket is still bunched up from where Catra was curled up in it.  
And Catra isn’t there.

She tries the training rooms next.

Then the cafeteria.

The higher points of the Fright Zone where Catra likes to sulk.

Eventually, she finds herself in Entrapta’s lab.

“Oh, Scorpia! Excellent,” Entrapta spins around in her chair, “I need a lab assistant for this new experiment.”

“Have you seen Catra?” Scorpia doesn’t want to sound desperate, but with the rumors, she needs to find Catra now.

“Not since Lord Hordak asked her into his sanctum.” Entrapta says it offhandedly, going back to working over whatever robot she is building next.

“Why did he ask her there?”

“I don’t know, exactly,” Entrapta reaches out her hand, and Emily places something into it, “Something about Shadow Weaver and how Catra’s lax security meant Shadow Weaver could escape and then he turned on that machine that takes all of the air out of the room.” Entrapta keeps working on the robot in front of her as she talks, and she doesn’t seem bothered by anything she is saying. 

Scorpia is very bothered though.

“Was Catra okay?”

“Oh, yeah! She collapsed, and Lord Hordak had her moved to one of the cells.”

Scorpia sighs with relief. Catra is okay.

Wait.

No.

Catra is being sent to Beast Island.

“We need to find Catra.”

This pulls Entrapta’s attention from her robot. “Why?”

“Because Hordak is sending her to Beast Island,” Scorpia says, “We need to save her before he gets the chance.”

Entrapta’s brows pull together in confusion, like she can’t quite understand the gravity of the situation. “They were Lord Hordak’s orders though.”

“Yeah, but this is _Catra_ ,” Scorpia says, “And Beast Island isn’t a good place.”

In fact, if what Catra said is true, Catra probably won’t come back if Scorpia doesn’t rescue her first.

Scorpia starts to pace. “Beast Island was this place they told us about as kids,” she says, and Entrapta watches her move back and forth, “And I thought it was always meant to scare us, like when they told us about princesses coming and taking naughty children, but then Catra told me that it was a real place, and that it was a death sentence for anyone to be sent there. We _can’t_ let that happen to her.”

“So, we need to help her,” Entrapta says.

“Yes,” Scorpia smiles, stopping right in front of Entrapta.

“As I understand it though, that means we’ll get in trouble too.”

Scorpia, far more loyal to Catra than the Horde, doesn’t care. Catra didn’t treat her like the other princesses or like every other Horde soldier. She didn’t see her as a traitor or a Force Captain. Catra only saw her as Scorpia, and hopefully as her friend after the few times Catra actually opened up to her.

“I think it’s worth it.”

Entrapta doesn’t seem like she shares the sentiment. She looks away from Scorpia and down at the robot she’s working on.

Scorpia guesses what Entrapta is going to say before she says it.

“I want to stay here. I have a lot more resources here than with the Rebellion, and I want to keep figuring out everything’s potential.”

Even though Scorpia knew what Entrapta was going to say, she’s shocked. She expected Entrapta to agree with her, to want to do what they could to save Catra.

She should have known that Entrapta wouldn’t want to switch sides again, at least not right now.

“Okay,” Scorpia says softly, “I understand.”

Entrapta lights up a bit at that. Scorpia figures Entrapta was expecting to hear how she should defect to help Catra and why staying would be a bad idea. She’s sure Entrapta didn’t expect for Scorpia to understand that this is where she wanted to be for the moment.

“Could you at least tell me what cell they’re holding Catra in?”

“Of course!” Entrapta spun around and typed a few things into her computer before saying, “It seems like Lord Hordak put her into Shadow Weaver’s old cell, but—” 

Scorpia is out the door before Entrapta can finish.

~*~

Scorpia is too late. The cell is completely empty where she gets there.

Catra is gone.

~*~

Octavia practically throws Catra off the ship onto the beach of Beast Island.

“Enjoy your time here, Force Captain,” Octavia says with a laugh, “I’m sure your days are numbered.”

The ship pulls away before Catra even thinks about trying to run back on, and then she’s left all alone.

She hears something move in the distance.

 _Well, mostly alone_ , Catra thinks as she pulls her knees to her chest and shivers against the cool sea breeze.

Catra tries not to focus on all the noises the island is making, and instead she thinks back to all of those survival classes she took growing up.

_First step of survival in an unknown environment: find a water source. Every living thing needs water to survive._

The ocean wouldn’t do. Ocean water only enhances thirst, and it doesn’t have much use besides evaporating the water to get salt. Catra would need to go further into the thick woods to find a stream or river. 

She looks at the trees and has a moment of panic. She can already hear rustling, things moving among the branches and through the leaves, and she knows that whatever is in there isn’t going to be friendly. She has no weapon, and her body still feels sore from oxygen deprivation.

She would be surprised if she made it through the night.

Catra gets up from the beach and tries shaking off the sand, but she can feel grains getting stuck deep in her fur. She doesn’t try and get it out, figuring she has bigger problems right now.

Namely, the glowing eyes watching her from the darkness of the forest.

She freezes, not knowing what else to do. Survival training didn’t tell her how she was meant to deal with whatever monsters lived on Beast Island. 

Does she attack?

Even with her speed and claws, Catra is not as top fighting capability right now. She would probably lose, and in this moment, losing means dying. 

She could run, but she is sure that whatever watching her is probably fast too.  
So, she chooses to stay on the beach.

“Um, hello?” Engaging probably isn’t the best idea, but it’s all she can think to do.  
It doesn’t move.

“Alright, well, I’m just going to go then.”

The eyes watch her move further down the beach.

And then there’s another pair of eyes where she plans on entering the woods. They look similar to the first pair, so Catra assumes they’re the same species.

There’s also something so familiar about those eyes.

She keeps walking down the beach, and every time she tries to enter the forest, there’s a new set of eyes watching her. It’s unsettling, but they have only watched her, nothing else.

“Okay,” she says to the newest pair of eyes, “Whatever you are, just come out and try and kill me already!”

She doesn’t expect for them to actually listen, but with some rustling, the creatures show themselves.

Catra’s eyes go wide.

Every single creature that stepped out of the trees look like her, with ears nestled into crazy manes of different lengths and tails that flicked ever so slightly.

One of them steps out from the crowd, a woman who is tall and stocky with a warrior’s build. Catra can see scars running up her arms, and she’s curious how the woman got them. 

There’s a flash of recognition in the woman’s eyes that Catra doesn’t understand before the woman raises her sword.

“Who are you?”

After years of training, Catra’s name, rank, and identification number roll off her tongue without thinking.

“Catra, Force Captain, 2258464.”

The woman looks at her for a second, and another one from the group, this one an older man, comes up to her and whispers something in her ear. She nods, and Catra wonders how exactly they’re planning on killing her.

The woman drops her sword.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?” Catra asks, probably against better judgement.

Catra isn’t sure, but she thinks she sees the woman’s lips quirk up a bit.

“Come, Catra,” the woman says, turning away.

Catra follows without argument. What else did she have to do?

~*~

Scorpia looks up at the castle of Bright Moon and takes a deep breath.

This is really her only option. She knows this is her only option, but it doesn’t stop her from feeling anxious at the thought of princesses inside the castle who don’t view her in the best light.

Not to mention the sheer amount of guards patrolling. Scorpia wonders what could’ve happened to amp up security like that.

Scorpia takes a deep breath before stepping onto the bridge leading up to Bright Moon’s runestone.

“Halt!” One guard yells, “Stay where you are!”

Scorpia puts her claws up to show she’s not a threat, “I need to speak to Adora.”

Suddenly, every guards’ spear is trained on her.

“Please!” Scorpia tries, “It’s about Catra.”

Scorpia sees princesses leaving the castle and coming her way, and she’s relieved when she sees She-Ra is among them. All of them get into a fighting stance with Queen Angella at the front, She-Ra right behind her.

“Why are you here, Horde soldier?” Queen Angella demands more than asks.

“It’s Catra,” Scorpia says quickly, and she notices She-Ra’s face fall a bit, “I tried getting her out, but Hordak sent her to Beast Island. We need to rescue her.”

“And why would we rescue Hordak’s second-in-command?” Glimmer asks from behind her mother.

Scorpia doesn’t address Glimmer, or Queen Angella, or any of the other princesses with her next plea. It’s said directly to She-Ra.

“Please, Adora,” Scorpia almost begs, worry growing every minute since she heard Catra was sentenced, “If you ever cared for her at all, help me. You know the rumors about Beast Island. You know what’s waiting for her there.”

“Why was she sent there?” The question comes out steady, but Scorpia can see the little bit of worry start to build that mirrors her own.

“Hordak thinks that Catra allowed Shadow Weaver to escape,” Scorpia notices Bow, Glimmer, and She-Ra all share a look before going on, “Catra was supposed to ship Shadow Weaver off to Beast Island, but she didn’t want to. I guess when Shadow Weaver got out, Hordak decided to give Catra Shadow Weaver’s punishment for allowing it.”

It looks like She-Ra doesn’t know what to say. She looks to Bow and Glimmer, and then to Scorpia, before looking down.

“Why did you choose to come here?” Queen Angella breaks the silence.

“Because I couldn’t stay with the Horde after what they did to Catra,” Scorpia says, “And the Rebellion is the only way I could think to get her back.”

“Where’s Entrapta?” Bow asks.

“She chose not to leave.”

The answer doesn’t seem to make Bow feel any better, and he slumps a bit.

“Very well,” Queen Angella says, loud enough for everyone to hear her, “Force Captain Scorpia, we will allow you into Bright Moon, but you will be under constant supervision. Is that understood?”

Scorpia nods.

“I am choosing to trust you,” Queen Angella says, her voice losing just a bit of its harshness, “One misstep, and you will be thrown into a cell.”

The princesses start moving back into the castle, and the guards drop their spears. Scorpia is escorted into the castle by two guards on either side of her, and she’s curious whether they will put her in a cell, or whether she will have some small amount of free reign.

She-Ra gives Scorpia one last look before turning around and following the other princesses down the hall.

~*~

Catra follows the warrior woman deep into the forest, and she wonders if they’re just taking her somewhere better to kill her. It doesn’t seem that way, since none of the other cat people even have weapons trained on her. She can run away at any time, but she’s curious.

She’s never seen people who look like her before.

They reach a grouping of thick-stumped trees, and the group disperses and starts climbing. The warrior woman nods towards the one directly in front of her. “You first.”

“How do I not know that there isn’t someone waiting up there to do me in?”

“Honestly,” the woman scoffs, “If we wanted to kill you, we would’ve done it on the beach just like every other Horde soldier brought to this island.”

Catra is almost thrown off by the blunt acknowledgement of the fate of every other Horde soldier to be sent to Beast Island. “What makes me different?”

“Why don’t you just climb the tree and find out?”

For once, Catra does as she’s told. Her oxygen-deprived muscles protest as she climbs, but she finally makes it up, pulling herself onto some kind of platform.

When she stands, she notices that everyone around her has stopped to look at her. She starts to feel uncomfortable in her Horde-issued uniform, the Force Captain badge practically searing through the fabric.

As everyone stares at her, Catra gets the opportunity to watch them too. They’re all cat people of different shapes and sizes, but there’s no denying that whoever these people are, Catra is connected to them.

The woman pulls herself up easily behind Catra, gaining her footing easily against the platform. She looks around at all of the people stopped and staring, but at the sight of her, they all drop their gazes and scurry away.

“What is this place?” Catra asks.

“What’s left of our community,” the woman says, “After Hordak tried decimating my people.”

 _My people_. Hordak never refers to the soldiers of the Fright Zone as his people. “My people” is reserved for queens and princesses speaking of their subjects.

That can only mean that this woman is one or the other.

“What’s my connection to this place?”

“I don’t know,” the woman moves from behind Catra to start walking down a pathway, pausing only to turn around and motion for Catra to follow her, “There has to be some connection though. You’re obviously a Magicat.”

In their lessons growing up, they learned about the many different species of people who walk Etheria. There were the Etherians, generally princesses and those connected to the throne. There were also humans, like Adora, who looked similar to Etherians, but lacked a few characteristics. Then there were the other mixes of species, like the half-Etherian, half-deer that live in the villages surrounding Bright Moon. There were also the species similar to her, lizard and octopus people who were generally a part of the Horde’s acquired army.

Catra had never heard of the Magicats before, though. She knows that if she did, she would’ve remembered learning about them.

About her species.

“How are you so sure?”

“Besides the fact that you look like us?” The woman sends a smirk over her shoulder to Catra, “You wouldn’t look like us if you were a half-cat, half-human hybrid. You would be lacking something.”

“I’m still a Horde soldier.”

“And a high ranking one at that,” they reach a door, and the woman opens it, motioning Catra inside, “You’re also young, and I assume you grew up in the Fright Zone.”

“How do you know that?”

The room is an office with one desk pushed into the corner and windows that let in natural light, even through the thick blanket of leaves outside.

The woman closes the door, “Let’s call it intuition.”

“Who even are you?”

The woman sits behind the desk and smirks again, “I’m surprised it took you this long to ask.”

Catra crosses her arms and scoffs, “I was distracted by other things.”

“Sure, kitten.” 

The nickname comes off as lightly teasing, and Catra is reminded of Adora calling her the same thing when they were kids to annoy Catra when they roughhoused. 

“My name is C’yra, Queen of Half Moon,” the woman, C’yra, looks outside with a look of hurt and longing, “Or what’s left of it, I guess.”

Catra doesn’t know how to respond. She heard somewhere that you are supposed to bow when introduced to royalty, but the distrust of queens and princesses that the Horde instilled in her stops her.

That, and she still doesn’t know what this queen wants with her.

“Come sit, Catra.”

Catra doesn’t.

C’yra leans back into her chair, “You don’t trust me.”

“Why should I? You blatantly stated that you’ve killed every single Horde soldier dropped onto that beach. The only thing apparently stopping you from doing that now is the possibility that I’m one of you.”

C’yra watches Catra flail her arms as she talks, her expression staying mostly blank. She allows a few moments of silence to pass before asking, “Do you know why the Magicats live on Beast Island?”

“Is this about to become a history lesson?”

C’yra rolls her eyes, and Catra feels a bit of satisfaction at annoying her, “Just answer the question, Catra.”

“No,” Catra says quietly, “The Horde never mentioned the Magicats.”

“We live here, because the Horde almost killed all of us,” C’yra says, her blank expression holding something deeper, sadder, “I had two options. Keep fighting and lose everything or surrender and take whoever survived here where the Horde wouldn’t bother us.” Pain creeps into her voice, and it sounds to Catra like coming here, surrendering, was the last thing C’yra wanted to do.

“I did what I had to do for my people,” C’yra says, “I already failed to keep them safe.”

“That doesn’t explain your leniency with me.”

C’yra sits up in her seat and starts moving around the office, “Well, the Horde wouldn’t let us go that easily. They needed a contingency, a way to know we wouldn’t fight back or use their good will against them.”

_After incapacitating a village, the first step is to offer them amnesty with a price._

“They took all the children they could find, only leaving the ones they felt weren’t any worth,” C’yra stops in front of a picture on her bookcase, picking it up, and Catra sees a small smile pull at the lips, “The princess was among them.”

Catra tries to remember seeing other children like her around the Fright Zone, but she can’t. She’s never seen anyone like her until now.

C’yra places the picture back on the shelf, “Some of the kittens were able to escape their capture and get back to us. Others—” She looks down and away, but Catra knows.

An unwilling soldier is nothing to the Horde.

“You think I’m one of the stolen children,” Catra says.

“I don’t think, Catra. I know.” C’yra comes over to Catra and stands right in front of her, and Catra thinks for a moment that C’yra is going to hurt her, but C’yra just looks at her, blank expression back, and Catra wonders what that blank expression is hiding.

“I’m still a Horde soldier.”

“It’s all you’ve ever known. It was your only choice.”

Catra thinks of Adora on the battlefield, the first time she ever saw She-Ra, and Adora’s desperate, _“Come with me. You don’t have to go back there. We can fix this.”_

Catra could’ve left then, but she turned away and decided to stay.

“You don’t have to stay here,” C’yra says softly, “Even though the Horde named this Beast Island, it was mostly to keep anyone from helping us. There isn’t anything you can’t handle out there.”

Catra thinks about her sore muscles and the low throbbing in her head that was turning into a full migraine. C’yra isn’t forcing her to stay, though. For once, Catra has the option to choose. 

“Maybe just one night.”

“Come on,” C’yra leads her out of the office, “I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

~*~

Scorpia is surprised when the two guards lead her to a small room and not a prison cell. She isn’t surprised when they take up guard right outside her door. She’s sure that trying to leave will be met with resistance.

Not that she is going to try. She knows that right now, this is the only place that will even think of helping Catra, and she will do anything to make sure Catra is safe.

She’s left on her own for longer than she expects. She passes the time by watching the clouds outside. They’re pink and fluffy, so different from the Fright Zone’s persisting smog, and they float by without care or worry.

Scorpia wonders how anyone can think the Rebellion is the enemy when they have skies like this.

The door opens, and Scorpia’s Force Captain training kicks in. She stands up, posture perfectly straight, like she is about to meet with a superior officer and not someone from the Rebellion.

It’s Adora.

She takes a moment to assure the guards that she’ll be fine alone with Scorpia before closing the door behind her.

Scorpia loses a bit of her posture, “You’re not afraid of me?”

“I remember a bit from when I was infected,” Adora smiles, “And I remember the hug. I know you’re not the rumors I heard when I still lived in the Fright Zone.”

Scorpia doesn’t know how to take that, especially coming from someone she’s fought on several occasions.

“Thank you,” Scorpia says, her posture completely softening now.

“Do you know when Catra was sent to Beast Island?”

Scorpia isn’t surprised when Adora decides to get right down to business. “I don’t know exactly when Octavia took her. I just know that she wasn’t in her cell when I got there last night.”

“So, she’s already been there for a day?”

“I think so.”

Something in Adora slumps, and she looks so exhausted. “I can’t leave Bright Moon right now, and no one else would want to go on this mission.”

Scorpia can’t believe what she’s hearing. “This is _Catra_ —”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Adora cuts her off, and she only looks angry for a second before something else takes its place. Scorpia sees sadness and hurt, and way deep down, even a little guilt.

“Why can’t you leave the castle?” Scorpia asks the questions quietly, because she isn’t sure how Adora will respond.

Adora sighs, “I woke up last night with Shadow Weaver standing over me. I thought it was just a nightmare at first, or like the shadows in Mystacor, but it was actually her.”

“She manipulated Catra to get to you.”

Adora turns away from Scorpia and grips the back of one of the chairs tightly, “Apparently.”

That’s why Scorpia sees guilt. She can practically hear what Adora is thinking. The only reason Catra is on Beast Island is because Shadow Weaver wanted to get to Adora.

Adora thinks it’s her fault.

“I can’t leave the castle, because I can’t leave it unguarded,” Adora answers before Scorpia gets a chance to ask again, “We have her in a cell right now, and Queen Angella is holding her with magic, but if she gets out for any reason, the castle _needs_ She-Ra.”

“The castle may end up needing She-Ra, but right now, Catra needs you.”

Adora sits in the chair and puts her head in her hands. Scorpia doesn’t know what to do. She could comfort Adora. Comfort is something she’s very good at, but she doesn’t know how Adora will respond. 

If she’s learned anything, though, it’s that Adora is a lot like Catra, and when Catra has to make a decision, she doesn’t like to be bothered.

So, Scorpia waits. She looks around the room and whistles softly to herself, even taking the chance to examine her claws and exoskeleton for scratches that may need to be buffed out later.

“Okay,” Adora lifts her head out of her hands, “You’re right. The castle is filled with princesses who can protect it.” Now that Adora has made her decision, her gets up and starts pacing, “We’ll need a plan and a map, and definitely a ship to get us out there.”

“We’re doing this?”

Adora stops pacing and smiles at Scorpia, “Yeah, we’re doing this.”

~*~

C’yra wakes Catra up the next morning with clothes thrown at her face. Catra splutters and shoots up ready for a fight, but all she finds is C’yra smirking down at her.

“Change,” C’yra commands, “I want to show you the rest of the village.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?”

C’yra’s gaze falls to the Force Captain badge on Catra’s shoulder, then on the Horde insignia on her belt. “People are already uncomfortable with you being here,” C’yra says, “We don’t need to give them any reason to believe you’re still with them.”

Catra wants to argue and say she _is_ still with the Horde. The only reason she is here is because she lied to Hordak. If it wasn’t for that, she would still be Force Captain, Hordak’s second-in-command, and trying to destroy the Rebellion.

And Adora.

C’yra notices her hesitation. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Catra says defensively, “It just—” She trails off, not really knowing what to say.

“Catra.”

Catra throws the clothes off of herself and at C’yra. Every negative emotion she felt since Hordak pulled that lever and took all of the oxygen out of the room starts to manifest as anger, and she’s looking for a fight.

Fighting is the only thing she’s good at.

“I’m still a Horde soldier,” Catra says, swiping her claws at C’yra without thinking of any consequences, “I’m still Force Captain. Being here for a day doesn’t change that!”

C’yra dodges her attacks easily, and Catra’s thrown off a bit. Her one strength in battle is being faster than her opponent. If she isn’t faster, she doesn’t have any advantages.

Still, she keeps attacking until C’yra catches her wrists and holds tight.

“Catra, stop.” She holds on tighter when Catra tries to fight her grip.

“Why do you care?” Catra hisses, “Don’t you have more important things to care about than some lost-child-Horde-soldier thrown on the beach?”

C’yra doesn’t answer. She just lets Catra fight her hold until Catra tires herself out and stops.

“I should’ve said something with a bit more tact, and for that, I apologize,” C’yra says, lowering Catra’s wrists, “I know your loyalties wouldn’t switch overnight, but the new clothes are to keep you safe. Everyone here hates the Horde, and while they recognize you as one of the children who were taken, it will take them a while to see past how you were raised.”

“It wasn’t my fault I was raised there.” It feels weird to say that, but Catra has always been better at placing blame on anyone else.

“I know,” guilt flashes in C’yra’s eyes, and Catra can guess that she’s placing the blame on herself, “They just need time to see that, so please, get changed, and I’ll show you around.”

“Fine.” Catra pulls out of C’yra’s grasp, and C’yra lets her before turning around.

The clothes C’yra gave Catra aren’t much different than the Horde-issued outfit Catra already has on. It’s a bit looser, but it’s obviously meant for ease of movement. The material feels better against her fur, though. It doesn’t irritate it like she had gotten used to with her Horde uniform.

She actually feels comfortable in it.

She folds her Horde uniform and places it at the end of the bed, shoving her Force Captain badge within the fabric to hide it.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

C’yra turns around and smiles at Catra for the first time, “Come on. Let’s start with breakfast.”

~*~

“Adora, you can’t possibly be serious,” Glimmer whispers angrily, “The last time we saw Catra, she infected She-Ra and took you prisoner.”

They’re in the war room post-strategy meeting when Adora decides to tell Bow and Glimmer that she’s going to help Scorpia get Catra back.

“I know, I know. It’s just—” How is Adora supposed to explain why she has to do this?

Even after Catra refused to come with her.

Even after Catra cut the webbing and let her fall into the simulation.

Even after the Battle of Bright Moon.

Even after infecting the sword.

Adora _has_ to save her.

It’s Adora fault that Catra was even sent to Beast Island. She can’t just leave Catra to face whatever she’s already facing there.

“I have to do this, Glimmer.”

Bow puts an arm around her and smiles, and Adora leans into him. “We get that, don’t we, Glimmer?” He gives Glimmer a pointed look, and she rolls her eyes.

“Fine.”

Bow throws a fist up and an excited, “Yeah!” and pulls Glimmer against his other side.

“Thank, you guys,” Adora says with a small smile.

Of all the people to find her out in the Whispering Woods, she is lucky it was these two.

“Of course!” Bow says, “What do you need from us?”

~*~

Everyone watches Catra as she follows C’yra through the camp. She feels uncomfortable with their gazes following her, but she knows she can’t say anything, so she keeps her head down and continues forward.

“This is part of the library,” C’yra says, opening yet another door, “You can get to the other parts through the next two doors.”

The library is completely empty besides one man hunched over a book at a back table.

C’yra crosses her arms and smirks, “So, this is where you’ve been.”

The man looks up, and the first thing she notices about him are his different colored eyes. One is blue, the other is green, and she wants to ask a million questions, because she’s never seen anyone, not even the other Magicats she’s seen since arriving, with two different eyes.

He smiles, “Well, my love, I’ve found something very interesting in one of the ancient texts.”

“And what could possible be so interesting in a text you’ve read a thousand times?” The words seem harsh, but C’yra’s tone is teasing and her tail flicks playfully.

“There are always new things to learn, even from a well-read text.” He returns her teasing tone, closing the book around a pencil and getting up from the table to come over to them.

 

His smile gets wider when he notices Catra right behind C’yra. “You must be the one I’ve heard whispers about.” He doesn’t regard her with the same hesitation Catra’s gotten from everyone else. He seems genuinely nice and curious.

It doesn’t stop her from strengthening her walls. She crosses her arms over her chest, “So what if I am?”

The man shares an amused look with C’yra.

“I didn’t mean to offend,” he tells Catra.

“Felix, this is Catra,” C’yra introduces, “Catra, this is my husband, King Felix.”

Felix bows, and Catra can tell that he’s doing it teasingly rather than seriously. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Catra,” he says in a fake royal tone.

 _These two are nothing like the royalty we learned about in the Fright Zone_ , Catra thinks, _There’s nothing formal about them besides their title._

“It’s, um, nice to meet you too, I guess.”

Felix laughs, and Catra jumps because she wasn’t expecting it. “It’s always nice to be reminded of my place, right sweetie?” He winks at C’yra, and C’yra rolls her eyes and shoves him playfully.

“Felix likes to stay in the library most of the time,” C’yra explains, “Apparently ancient texts never grow dull.”

“I thought you all were supposed to be warriors,” Catra says, eyeing Felix’s clothes that would be impossible to fight in, “You don’t really look like a warrior.”

“I’m a warrior _and_ a scholar,” Felix says, his amused smile never leaving his face no matter how insulting Catra tries to be, “The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Catra thinks about the greatest soldiers she knew in the Fright Zone. None of them were scholars, so she’s a bit hesitant to believe Felix could even hold a sword.

“If you want, I could show you around the library,” Felix offers.

Catra almost says yes, because he has that kind of hopefulness Scorpia has whenever she asks to hang out when they’re not on a mission.

The thought of Scorpia sends a wave of guilt through her. She has no idea if anything has happened to Scorpia since she stepped into Hordak’s sanctum. What if he realized Scorpia offered to help her find Shadow Weaver? What if he punishes her for it?

“Uh, no thanks,” Catra gets out, “I’ve never really been interested in books.”

“More like C’yra then,” he says, and C’yra shoots him a look Catra can’t quite decipher, “Has she shown you the training grounds yet?”

“That was our next stop,” C’yra turns to Catra, “We can go whenever you’re ready.”

“There’s training grounds here?” Catra asks, already turning to leave, “Why did we even come to the library?”

She hears Felix laugh behind her, and C’yra says goodbye before following Catra back outside.

~*~

Adora grabs as many maps from the library as she can before heading to the room they’re keeping Scorpia in. She doesn’t know if any of these maps will have Beast Island on them, but there’s no harm in trying.

The guards nod to her as she pushes in, almost losing her grip on the scrolls held in her arms.

Scorpia is sitting at the table when she comes in.

“Alright,” Adora says, laying the maps down onto the table with some effort, “Here’s every map I could find in Bright Moon’s library. One of them has to have Beast Island on it, right?”

“Definitely!”

They look through all the maps, but not a single one has Beast Island anywhere one it.

“How is this possible?” Scorpia asks with exasperation, “How do we have—” she takes a moment to count the maps, “—ten maps and none of them tell us where Beast Island is?”

Adora looks through the maps again and notices a pattern. All of these maps were dated before the Horde started trying to take over Etheria.

She tells Scorpia this, and ends with, “Beast Island must’ve had a different name before. We just need a map from after!”

“Do you think Bright Moon will have one?”

“I can go look again.”

Adora gathers the maps and tells Scorpia that she’ll be back as soon as she can before heading back to the castle library. She sets the maps down on a table before looking again. _There has to be a map that I missed before_ , Adora thinks, _I just have to find it._

“Do you need help finding something?”

Adora jumps at the voice, and she turns to see Queen Angella watching her.

“Um, no?” Adora knows she shouldn’t feel uncomfortable in the queen’s presence anymore, but she can’t help it. She’s sure Queen Angella only tolerates her because of She-Ra and the fact that the Rebellion needs She-Ra to win the war.

“Are you sure?” Queen Angella lifts an eyebrow, “Maybe you need help finding a map to show you where Beast Island is?”

“What? Beast Island? Pft, no,” Adora looks away from the queen to try and make her lie more believable, “I was just looking for—” she trails off as she looks for anything to help her, her eyes falling on a map of Bright Moon’s aqueduct system, “—this map here. You know, to learn more about the castle.”

Queen Angella doesn’t look like she believes Adora’s well-crafted lie.

“Well, if you were interested in helping Princess Scorpia with her mission, I believe there’s a map we gained from a Horde squadron there,” Queen Angella points to a shelf Adora didn’t think to look in, “It might have the location of Beast Island on it.”

Adora holds the map of aqueducts against her chest, “You’re not going to try and stop me?”

“No, Adora,” Queen Angella gives her a soft smile, one that Adora has only ever seen her give to Glimmer, “I understand that this is important to you. I just hope it goes well.”

Adora puts the map she is holding back and grabs the one Queen Angella pointed her to. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Queen Angella nods, “Please, be safe.”

Adora nods before leaving the library and heading back to Scorpia’s room.

~*~

The training grounds are in a clearing near the trees they climbed to get to the village, and there are already people there, some sparring and others in lessons.

Catra feels the itch to train. It’s something she knows and understands, and it’s far more familiar to her than anything that has happened in the last day.

All of the warriors freeze as C’yra and Catra approach, and she isn’t sure if it’s because their queen has joined them or because the Horde soldier is here.

Probably a mix of both.

“My Queen,” one man says, bowing ever so slightly, “We didn’t know you were joining us today.”

“Please, Victor,” Catra can feel C’yra trying not to roll her eyes at the formality, “There’s no need to bow. I’m just showing Catra around the village today.”

Victor looks around C’yra and sizes Catra up. “Well, would she be interested in sparring?”

Catra notices some of his students looking at one another behind him, and she can see some trepidation. Their eyes are practically screaming, _“Why is he asking the Horde soldier to spar?”_

“She can speak for herself,” Catra snarks, “And she would love to spar.”

“Excellent,” Victor turns to his students and asks, “Which one of you would like to spar with Catra?”

“I would.” A rather large Magicat steps out from the group, and he smiles down at Catra like he’s already won.

“Bring it.”

Victor leads them to a sparring ring, and he hands both of them a staff. Catra twirls it a few times to get a feel for it, and she’s happy to learn it isn’t too different from the staffs she trained with back in the Fright Zone.

Catra watches her opponent, who Victor refers to as Alonzo as he explains the rules. She already knows his weaknesses before they get into stance. He’s big, which means he’s strong, so he’s going to rely on that during the fight. Based off of his cocky smile, he must also be the best fighter among his class, so he already thinks he’s won. That’ll be easy enough to exploit.

“Begin!”

Unsurprisingly, Alonzo makes the first move, and Catra dodges it easily. She keeps dodging until she finds an opening.

When he strikes, he doesn’t defend his ribcage.

As he raised his staff to attack again, Catra jabs quickly, and he goes down. After that, it doesn’t take too long to get his staff from his hands and pin him, her own staff held under his chin.

When Catra looks up, she sees that C’yra looks almost impressed, and Victor is shocked.

“Not bad,” C’yra calls to her, “That was close to record time.”

“I can’t believe it,” Victor says, eyes still wide.

Catra leaves Alonzo to get up on his own. Sparring made her feel more comfortable, but that feeling of not belonging starts to creep in when she sees that all of the other students are looking at her like she did something wrong.

But she didn’t do anything wrong. All she did was win.

“Here,” Catra throws the staff back at Victor before leaving the sparring circle. The looks she got from the other students start to remind her of the looks she would get from everyone else in her squadron whenever she did something better than them. They never congratulated her. They just looked at her like she was wrong.

Like she didn’t _deserve_ to do something right or better.

The only person who ever congratulated her—

Catra cuts those thoughts off with a sharp shake of her head. What does it even matter? Even when she was better than Adora, Shadow Weaver would punish her.

A hand closes around her arm, and Catra acts quickly, swiping at whoever it is with her claws.

C’yra catches her hand. “You tend to act first and think second, don’t you?”

“Leave me alone,” Catra spits at her.

“I just wanted to tell you that you did well.”

“And?”

C’yra gives her a confused look. “There is no “and,” Catra.”

Catra pulls her hand out of C’yra’s grasp. “I’m not an idiot. I know that compliments only come with some backhanded comment about what I can do better, so just say it.”

Understanding washes over C’yra’s face. “That’s not how things work here, Catra. When I give you a compliment, it’s because I actually mean it.”

“Whatever.” Catra starts walking away again, and she hears C’yra following her. It pushes at her already-growing irritation, and she turns on her heels and says, “Can’t you just leave me alone?”

C’yra doesn’t get angry like Catra expects. “I figure you’d want some help getting back before brooding in your room all alone.”

“I’m not brooding. I’m just tired of being around self-righteous jerks like you.”

“Whatever you say,” C’yra starts walking, leaving Catra behind her. When she realizes Catra isn’t following, she turns around and asks, “Well, aren’t you coming?”

Catra follows, even if she doesn’t really want to.

~*~

The map Queen Angella pointed Adora to has Beast Island up in the corner in the middle of a vast expanse of water.

“Well, we already knew we were going to need a boat,” Scorpia says.

Adora smiles, “No problem. I know a guy.”

~*~

C’yra leaves Catra alone, and Catra spends the first few hours in her room thinking and overthinking everything from the last day. She doesn’t know why she expected anyone to welcome her.

She doesn’t even know if she wants them to welcome her.

She’s a Horde soldier, part of the army that destroyed them and forced them here for any sense of refuge, and she would still be a part of that army if she wasn’t sent here.

She realizes she doesn’t miss the Horde, though. Even with everyone’s distrust throughout the day, she feels like she belongs here among the Magicats. With the Horde, she was constantly having to achieve more and do more to prove her place there, and even then, it was never good enough. She overthrew Shadow Weaver, but she lost her place the second Entrapta became more useful to Hordak.

Here, it doesn’t feel like she needs to prove anything besides the fact that she doesn’t want to be a Horde soldier anymore.

Which, sure, she isn’t sure is true, but no one can blame her for wanting to hold onto the only thing she knew growing up.

Then there was C’yra. Catra doesn’t understand why the queen of the Magicats spent an entire day showing Catra around the village when anyone else could’ve done that.

Catra sits up in bed and looks down at the Force Captain badge she took out of her clothes once she got back to her room. 

She was Hordak’s second-in-command, and the second she stopped being of use to him, he got rid of her without a second thought. He pulled the lever, and Catra thought he was going to kill her.

She wonders why he didn’t.

Catra picks up the badge and runs her thumb over the insignia.

The only reason she got Force Captain was because Adora left. If Adora had stayed with the Horde, she would’ve never been anything more than a foot soldier under someone else’s command.

Catra throws the badge, and it hits the wall with a loud crash. She wishes it shattered against the wall, but it just falls to the floor completely intact.

 _I can’t be in here anymore_ , Catra thinks, and she stands up and goes to leave.

She’s surprised that there aren’t any guards outside her room, but C’yra told her earlier that she wasn’t a prisoner here.

Even if she sort of feels like a prisoner.

Catra makes her way to the only place she remembers how to get to.

There are more people in the library now, but only one raises his head from his book when she enters. 

“Catra!” Felix says excitedly, “What a surprise. I thought you said you aren’t interested in books.”

“I’m not.” She sits beside him and looks around at all the books opened up on the surface, “I just needed somewhere quiet to think, and my room was starting to feel claustrophobic.”

“Well, you’re always welcome here,” he smiles at her, his two-toned eyes sparkling ever so slightly, “Just let me know if you need anything.”

 

“Um, actually.” Catra trails off, a bit unsure of how to ask for what she wants.

“What is it?”

“Can I have some paper and a pencil?”

“Of course! One second.” Felix jumps up from the table and goes somewhere deeper in the library before returning with a stack of blank paper and a few pencils. “There you go. All yours.”

“Uh,” Catra takes the stack from him, “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He flashes her one last smile before returning to his reading, scribbling a few notes into the notebook at his side.

Catra takes a moment to sit in the quiet of the library. She can hear other Magicats shuffling around and the sound of pages being turned, even a hushed conversation from another table. The entire place smells like old books, and she didn’t really know she likes that smell until now.

She expects Felix to try and talk to her, but he seems happy to just sit in silence with her, and Catra appreciates it. She starts doodling on the paper Felix got for her, feeling her thoughts from earlier push to the back of her mind.

Catra doesn’t know how long she’s been sitting in the library when C’yra finds them

“You weren’t in your room,” C’yra says with some amusement, “I didn’t expect to find you here though.”

“I didn’t want to be in my room,” Catra explains, “And I guess the library isn’t the worst place in the world.”

“It’s small, but I’ll take any compliment about the library,” Felix jokes, then looks up at his wife, “Any particular reason you’re here, love?”

“To pull you away from your reading so that you can eat,” C’yra says with a smile, “And apparently to find Catra to bring her to dinner as well.”

“Well, you heard the queen,” Felix says to Catra, “Off to dinner we go.”

Catra lets Felix jokingly usher her out of the library. She even smiles when he dramatically opens the door for her and waves her out with an overdone, “M’lady.”

She doesn’t see C’yra watch them with a warm smile on her lips.

~*~

It takes Sea Hawk a few days to make it to Bright Moon. Apparently, he was out sailing somewhere dangerous and full of adventure and could only just now make it here.

Adora expects his dramatic greeting. What she doesn’t expect is for his excitement to grow when he notices Scorpia standing behind Adora, Bow, and Glimmer.

The two hug with shared exclamations of, “You’re great!” 

Bow and Glimmer look to Adora for explanation, but Adora can only shrug and say, “I don’t remember a lot of it, but I’m pretty sure they bonded while we were in the Northern Reach.”

After explaining the plan and possible risks, Sea Hawk is onboard. 

“It sounds like it will be filled with adventure!” Sea Hawk says the last part as an exclamation, standing up and putting one foot on the chair and a fist in the air. Bow is quick to join him, and they start singing some sea shanty about fighting monsters, Scorpia putting a claw around each of their shoulders and joining in.

Glimmer sighs, and Adora nudges her slightly.

“We actually have a plan, for the most part.”

“Aren’t you the one who says we need a solid plan since most of our plans end up failing?”

Adora laughs, “You’re the one who said we’re good at improvising.”

Glimmer watches Bow, Sea Hawk, and Scorpia start to sing even louder, and she has to fight back a smile. “Yeah, well, this is definitely going to be a disaster.”

~*~

Catra spends most of her days either with Felix in the library or with C’yra on the training grounds. She starts to learn more about the two as her stay with the Magicats grows longer.

She learns that most of C’yra’s scars weren’t actually from the Magicats’ battle with the Horde. Apparently, C’yra was well known for getting into fights, and a lot of them came from taking on opponents far bigger than her.

“I always won though,” C’yra said with a smirk, swinging her staff and catching Catra behind the knees, effectively pinning her.

She learns a lot of different things from Felix, mostly about Magicats history. He tells her stories of mythical heroes and queens throughout the ages while Catra draws, and she starts looking forward to seeing him every day to hear something new.

He also tells her the story of how he met C’yra.

“She was the princess, and I was just a student hoping she would pay attention to me,” he said, voice a bit dreamy and a dumb smile on his face as he remembers, “The first time we talked, she bested me in a fight, and from that day on, I was smitten.”

Catra finds herself looking forward to seeing them every day, and she doesn’t know how to feel about that.

Anytime she starts to put her faith in someone, they give her a reason why she shouldn’t.

Some of the other Magicats start warming up to her too.

One lunch where C’yra and Felix had different things they needed to attend to, Catra sat on her own at a table in the corner until Alonzo dropped down beside her, begging her to teach him one of the moves she used against him in their spar a few days before.

She’s even caught the attention of the younger kids. As she waited for C’yra on the training grounds one day, a few kittens came up to her and started asking questions.

“Why do you wear that thing on your face?” One asked, swatting at her tail.

“What is the Horde?” Another asked, looking up at her with wide glowing eyes.

“Why does everyone stare at you?” The last one asked from beside the second.

Catra didn’t answer their questions, instead telling them to scram, but they start finding her around the village to ask more and more questions.

It annoys Catra, but she answers them, hoping it will get them away from her.

She doesn’t admit that she kind of enjoys being around them.

Today, Catra waits for C’yra in her office before they head off to see a bit of the island. She’s looking through the books C’yra keeps in there, pulling one out every now and then to read about Magicats battle strategy or the Great Battle under Queen Selima.

She keeps moving along the shelves until she’s stopped in front of a frame. It’s the picture C’yra picked up on Catra’s first day in the village, the only time Catra has ever seen the queen genuinely smile.

Catra picks it up and looks at it. 

It’s an old picture, and Catra recognizes a younger C’yra and Felix holding a small kitten, all three smiling like they’ve never been happier.

Catra freezes.

The kitten has orange fur with dark striped markings on her arm with eyes that are two different colors, one the same blue as Felix’s and one the gold of C’yra’s.

Catra remembers C’yra talking about the children that were taken. _“The princess was among them,”_ she had said.

“Sorry about that, Catra,” C’yra comes into the room saying, “I don’t know how my advisor finds so much to talk about when there’s so little going on.”

C’yra freezes when she notices what Catra has in her hands.

“Catra—”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” The question comes out soft and hurt, and Catra wishes it held more anger, but it just doesn’t.

“You just got here. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Don’t you think I had a right to know?”

“Of course, but is that really the first thing you wanted to hear?”

Catra wants to throw the frame to the floor. She wants to be anywhere but in this office with C’yra.

Her _mother_.

“Catra,” C’yra tries to come closer, but she stops when she sees Catra tense, “I didn’t keep this from you because I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t tell you because I wanted you to feel like you fit here before telling you that you’re their princess.”

Catra sets the picture down on C’yra’s desk and runs. The last thing she hears is, “Catra, wait!” before climbing down the tree trunk and disappearing into the forest.

~*~

Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Scorpia, and Sea Hawk all sit around a table trying to come up with a plan.

“Why do we even need a plan?” Sea Hawk says, “The plan is adventure!”

Adora runs a hand over her face and tries not to snap at Sea Hawk. “We need a plan because Beast Island is rumored to be surrounded by monsters with even more monsters waiting for us if we make it to land.”

Bow’s expression fills with fear, “Yeah, I’m not really liking the idea of _if_ we make it to land.”

“I’m just being realistic,” Adora says, “Every story they told us about Beast Island growing up talked about the island being impossible to live on because of the creatures that inhabit it. To rescue Catra, we’re going to need to protect ourselves so we can actually find her.”

Glimmer takes out the map and places it on the table between all of them. “It looks like it’ll only take us about a day to actually get there,” she places one marker on Bright Moon, the other on Beast Island, “I think the best plan is leaving a few people on the boat to protect it and having a few go on the island to find Catra.”

“I want to be one of the ones to find Catra,” Scorpia says.

“Me too,” Adora adds on.

“Alright then,” Bow takes out his mini figurines and places them at different points on the map, “This is Sea Hawk’s boat,” he places a boat figurine beside Beast Island, “So Sea Hawk should probably be one of the people to stay back.” He places mini-Adora on the island, “Adora and,” he digs around in his bag for a moment before pulling out the dragon figurine, “Scorpia—”

Scorpia picks up the dragon and says, “This looks nothing like me.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t have one of you since you’re new to the team. A dragon is the closest I have to a scorpion.”

Scorpia places the dragon beside Adora on Beast Island.

“They go off to find Catra,” he puts the cat figurine on the island as well, “Leaving Glimmer and me to help Sea Hawk watch the boat.” He places tiny-Bow and tiny-Glimmer beside the boat.

“That’s actually not a bad plan,” Glimmer says, giving Bow a smile.

“Do you think you two can handle the monsters on the island?” Bow asks Adora and Scorpia.

Adora smirks, “Oh please. I’m sure She-Ra can take down some monsters with no problem.”

“Plus, we’ve seen Scorpia fight, Bow,” Glimmer says, “I think she can handle herself.” 

Scorpia smiles at the compliment, her cheeks turning red. “Well thanks, you guys.”

“Alright,” Adora says to the table, “Let’s start getting everything together.”

~*~

It’s Felix that finds Catra out in the forest. She’s sitting by a pond that she found, her knees pulled up to her chest as she watches the small aquatic creatures just beneath the surface.

“Leave me alone,” she tells him, “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Then we don’t have to talk,” he says, his voice soft, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“I’m not the boss of you. Sit wherever you want.”

Felix breathes out a laugh before sitting a few feet away from Catra. Instead of watching the pond, though, he looks up and watches the sky and the clouds moving overhead.

They sit in silence for a while, and Felix only breaks it to say, “I’m sorry, Catra.”

“For what?”

“A lot of things,” he says, and when Catra looks over at him, he’s still just watching the clouds, “I’m sorry that C’yra and I didn’t tell you sooner, and I’m sorry we didn’t do more to protect you. We thought we hid you well enough, but by the time we got back to our chambers to get you, you were gone.”

Catra stays silent, and Felix goes on.

“I’m sorry we didn’t try and rescue you.”

“If you would’ve tried, the Horde would’ve killed all of you.”

“I know,” Felix’s voice is soft, “It doesn’t mean I still can’t be sorry.”

“Being sorry doesn’t change what happened.”

“I know,” Felix repeats.

“It doesn’t change that I grew up in the Horde.”

“I know,” Felix says again.

Catra rests her chin on her arms and watches a strange creature hop across the pond on leaves.

“Is the only reason they didn’t kill me because of who I am?”

“Of course not,” Felix sounds determined, “We would’ve spared any Magicat dropped on that beach.”

“I could’ve been anyone?”

Catra looks over to Felix and sees him nod. “You could’ve been any of the other children taken.”

That’s oddly comforting to Catra.

They sit in silence again, this one more comfortable than the last.

Felix is the one to break it again. “You don’t have to come back if you don’t want to.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he smiles that same smile Catra is starting to become so familiar with, “We don’t want to keep you somewhere you don’t want to be.”

Catra thinks for a moment before asking, “What if I want to be there?”

Felix’s smile gets softer, “You’re always welcome at home, Catra.”

 _Home_. For so long Catra thought of the Fright Zone as her home. It’s where she grew up, where she met Adora, and the only place she really had. But then Adora left, and every horrible thing Adora’s presence shielded her from seemed to attack her from all sides, and the only way she seemed to fight back was by hating Adora and doing everything she could to take her down and destroy the Rebellion.

Now, though, Felix is offering her a new home, one among the community she never got to know growing up.

With parents who want her.

Catra knows she should be more wary of anyone offering any form of affection, but after Shadow Weaver, after thinking she finally gained her respect and getting manipulated yet again, Catra was desperate for anything, anywhere she felt at least okay.

“Can we go back now?” Catra asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course,” Felix stands and offers Catra a hand up, “Let’s go home.”

~*~

It takes them a few more days before they’re ready to go, but Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Sea Hawk, and Scorpia leave Bright Moon on a sunny day perfect for sailing. They have plenty of supplies and a backup plan for their backup plan.

Adora is starting to feel like this might go to plan.

“Okay,” Adora says to the group, “Just one more run-through of the plan.”

Sea Hawk groans, and Bow slumps a bit in his seat.

“Come on, Adora,” Bow whines, “Haven’t we gone over it enough?”

“I’m not letting anything go wrong. So, Sea Hawk?”

He sighs dramatically before pointing to a spot on the map, “This is where I drop you and Scorpia.” He seems to get some renewed energy, because he stands suddenly jumps and puts a foot on the side of the boat, raising a fist to the ocean. “Then I will help fight any monsters who try to board my boat!”

“Bow?”

Bow jumps up beside Sea Hawk and mirrors him. “I will fight alongside Sea Hawk to keep the boat safe!”

“Glimmer?”

Glimmer has her head in her hands. “My job is to make sure those two idiots don’t get killed fighting monsters,” Adora hears through Glimmer’s fingers.

Adora turns and watches Scorpia. She’s back towards the end of the boat, away from the Best Friend Squad + Sea Hawk, and she’s watching the waves picked up by the boat cutting through the water. Adora leaves her friends just as Bow makes a mock-offended comment at Glimmer, falling across her lap dramatically. Glimmer laughs and shoves him off, and all of them start laughing loudly.

Scorpia doesn’t regard Adora as Adora joins her.

“And your job?” Adora says it just loud enough to be heard over the wind and waves crashing.

“Rescue Catra.”

Scorpia doesn’t turn to face Adora as she says it. She just keeps watching the waves and the horizon.

Adora wonders what made Scorpia start caring for Catra so deeply. She knows Catra isn’t the most loving or open person, even if Catra was always so open with her before she left. She remembers bit and pieces of when she was infected, and one thing she remembers is Scorpia confidently talking about how much she cared about Catra and how she wouldn’t leave her.

Like Adora did.

“Catra’s lucky to have someone like you,” Adora says, watching Sea Hawk and Bow start up another sea shanty while Glimmer looks like she wants to teleport far, far away from here.

“I won’t leave her.”

“We’re going to find her.”

Scorpia finally looks at Adora then, and she sees the same emotions that she’s been trying to hide since Scorpia showed up in Bright Moon. There’s worry and fear, fear that they are too late, and something horrible has already happened to Catra.

“How are you so sure?”

Adora nudges Scorpia, “Well, she’s got you looking out for her.”

Scorpia smiles, “She has you too, even though you’ve been trying to kill each other since you left the Horde.”

“Hopefully she won’t try and kill me when we find her.”

“Guys!” Glimmer calls to them, cutting off their conversation, “We’re getting close.”

Adora nods and moves down the boat, hearing Scorpia whisper, “I’m coming, Wildcat.”

~*~

After Catra and Felix make it back to the village as the sun dips below the horizon, Catra spends the next few days avoiding Felix and C’yra completely. She hides where she thinks they won’t find her, first up high in the trees of the forest and then exploring the island. She finds rivers with more of the strange creatures she saw at the pond and a cave filled with gentle sleeping bats.

Felix and C’yra never find her.

Or maybe they’re waiting for Catra to come to them.

She enjoys her time by herself around the island. It’s really the first time in her life that she’s completely alone. Even when she was alone in the Fright Zone, there were always robots and soldiers doing rounds and Hordak’s little imp taking intel back to him.

Here among trees even greener than those in the Whispering Woods, Catra feels alone and at peace. She doesn’t have to look over her shoulder or worry about what she says.

Not that she has anyone around her to talk to, but still. 

She sneaks in and out of the village for meals, and after the first day of looking over her shoulder and eating as fast as she can, Catra notices a small bundle at the end of the counter with her name written on a card. She grabs it and notices the head chef, Pisica, give her a wink and a smile, and Catra feels herself smile as she takes it and heads back into the forest.

As even more of the Magicats start to warm up to her, she bitterly wonders if it’s because they know who she is.

On the first day Catra decides to stay in the village, she hears the sound of chimes clanging. Her ears pick up warriors rushing to grab weapons and climb down the trunks.

She starts to follow the warriors from the treetops, curious what could be happening.

All of them stop at the line of trees along the beach, waiting.

Catra waits too, ready to pounce.

There are two people on the beach coming closer to the trees. Catra can’t make out who they are until they get just close enough to notice the glowing eyes of the Magicats warriors.

 _There’s no way_ , Catra thinks as she watches the two people freeze.

~*~

There aren’t any monsters, and Adora starts to think they somehow got off course.

“That isn’t possible,” Sea Hawk tells her when she brings it up, “My sailing is impeccable.”

“Then why haven’t we come across any monsters?”

“Maybe they’re sleeping?” Bow suggests, an arrow ready to fire.

Adora stops to think of the possibility, but that can’t be right. Every story she remembers about Beast Island talks about how it’s dangerous at any time of day, monsters ready to attack whoever comes close enough to challenge them.

They keep sailing, everyone ready for a fight, but there’s nothing.

Not even when Sea Hawk steers them to land and anchors.

Everything is quiet.

“Everyone remember the plan?” Adora asks.

She gets an affirmative from everyone.

Then she looks to Scorpia, “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.”

They both hop down onto the beach, Adora holding the She-Ra's sword and Scorpia with her claws ready for a fight. Adora looks up and sees Bow and Glimmer standing at the edge, arrows and magic ready to give them cover if necessary.

The beach is just as quiet as the waters surrounding it though. There are no monsters, nothing jumping out at them, and Adora wonders where those rumors of Beast Island even started if this is all it is.

Scorpia heads up the beach first, and Adora follows her, both of them moving slowly and constantly looking around themselves.

They reach the tree line without any resistance, and that’s when they see it. A dozen or more pairs of glowing eyes watching them from the shadows.

Scorpia and Adora freeze, neither of them speaking. They don’t want to spook whatever is beyond the forest.

Turns out they don’t need to worry about that, though. Within seconds the eyes turn into a group ready to attack. Scorpia sinks into the sand, ready to hold her ground, and Adora lifts her sword.

Before Adora can say, “For the honors of Grayskull!” though, she hears a shout of, “Wait!”

Someone runs in between Scorpia and Adora and the group ready to attack them.

“Wildcat!” Scorpia says excitedly.

It takes a moment for Adora to recognize Catra, because she isn’t wearing her Horde uniform. Something seems different about her too, but it’s undeniably Catra standing between them and danger.

“They’re not your enemy,” Catra tells the woman at the front.

“Are they not Horde soldiers?”

Adora looks down at her Horde-issued uniform she never had the heart to get rid of and realizes that yeah, even though she is sort of the face of the Rebellion now, she definitely still looks like a Horde soldier.

“I’m actually a part of the Rebellion,” Adora says, hoping to help, “And, uh, She-Ra.” She lifts the sword up a bit as proof.

“And I defected about, what was it?” Scorpia turns to Adora, “Was is a week and a half ago? I’m pretty sure it was a week and a half. I mean, we spent a long time making a plan and getting Sea Hawk and then making another plan—”

Adora is pretty certain that she sees Catra trying to fight off a small smile pulling at her lips.

“They’re not a threat,” Catra cuts Scorpia off.

The group backs off as the woman in front, the obvious leader, motions to back down. Adora is wondering how Catra has any sway with this group until she takes a closer look at their would-be attackers.

They’re all different sizes and shapes and colors, but they all look like Catra, with their ears nestled into manes and tails twitching according to their mood.

The leader comes over to them and looks at Adora and Scorpia before turning to Catra. “Are you sure we can trust them?”

“Yeah, they’re my—” Catra cuts herself off and looks at Adora, “Well, one of them is my friend.”

Usually those words would hurt Adora, but they aren’t said with the same bite Catra has gained towards her since she left.

_I wonder what went on in the week and a half it took us to get here._

The leader nods, “They’re your responsibility then.” She leaves to join the group thinning out into the trees, and Adora wonders where they’re going.

Catra turns around. “What are you guys doing—”

Scorpia picks Catra up and hugs her close, “Oh, Wildcat, I’m so happy you’re okay! I was so worried when I heard what happened. I couldn’t believe it! And then I defected and joined the Rebellion and got Adora’s help, and I’m just so happy that you aren’t dead!” Catra spends the entire ramble pushing against Scorpia, but even Adora can see that it’s halfhearted.

Scorpia finally lets Catra go, and Catra falls back onto the sand, brushing herself off. “Yeah, obviously I’m fine. No need to bring a rescue party.”

“Beast Island is supposed to be a death sentence,” Adora says.

Catra looks at her, and Adora finds that her expression, usually so easy to read, is unreadable.

“Yeah, well, it isn’t the first time I’ve survived something I shouldn’t.” Catra holds eye contact with Adora, and Adora wants to look away, but she can’t.

There’s something so different in those mismatched eyes now.

“So,” Scorpia says, “Who were those people?”

Catra looks away, and Adora lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“The Magicats,” Catra answers, “Apparently almost decimated by the Horde and brought here to waste away.”

“You look like them," Scorpia thinks out loud.

Catra looks down and away, “I am one of them.” Adora notices the slight twitch in Catra’s tail that lets her know that there’s something more, something deeper that Catra isn’t telling them.

She chooses not to bring it up. It’s not like she has the right to ask.

“Are you two it for the rescue team?” Catra asks, regaining some of her usual snark.

“Bow and Glimmer are back on the boat with Sea Hawk,” Adora tells her.

Catra’s eyebrows pull together in confusion, “Who’s Sea Hawk?”

“Inspector Pirate!” Scorpia says, and Catra looks from her to Adora for a better explanation.

“He was at the Northern Reach with us,” Adora says, “He and Scorpia bonded.”

“I swear you could bond with a rock given enough time,” Catra says to Scorpia, and it sounds like it should come off insulting, but Scorpia smiles.

“Go get the others off the boat,” Catra tells Adora, “It’s too late for you guys to sail back, and there’s no reason to leave them waiting there.”

Adora expects some joke or some snide comment, but Catra just looks at her and waits for her to go back to the ship, so she does.

~*~

Getting all the non-Magicats up into the village is easier than expected. Catra climbs the tree with ease, Scorpia not far behind her, and Glimmer just teleports herself, Bow, Adora, and Sea Hawk instead of trying to make the climb.

“So, there were more of you,” the leader from earlier comes up to them and crosses her arms.

“You could at least introduce yourself,” Catra says, mirroring the pose, and Adora notices something, but she isn’t quite sure what.

“Oh, of course,” the woman bows dramatically, “Queen C’yra of Half Moon.” She comes back up from the bow with a flourish of her hand.

“Wait, I know you,” Glimmer says, “My mom knew you.”

C’yra squints her eyes at Glimmer and takes a few minutes to look her over before smirking. “Well, you definitely look more like Micah than Angella,” she says, her voice teasing, “Let’s just hope you don’t take after Angella in personality.”

“Hey!” Glimmer goes to move forward, and Bow stops her before she can do anything stupid, like punch the queen of Half Moon for insulting her mom.

C’yra laughs, “Yeah, you’re definitely Micah’s daughter.”

Catra’s watches C’yra tease the people she’s come to hate. She watches Bow try to control Glimmer while Adora hides a smile, and even Scorpia is laughing alongside the queen, and she realizes that she might have judged these people without really giving them a chance.

She only knew them as the people who Adora left her for. They were the reason Adora didn’t find that sword and just come back to the Fright Zone.

But they are different here in the village, being teased by one of the only adult figures to ever treat her like she was anything more than a tool. 

Or maybe Catra just sees them differently.

Maybe Catra’s changed.

She shakes the thought out of her head as everyone around her starts introducing themselves.

“I’m Bow,” he extends his hand, and C’yra shakes it with amusement in her eyes, “I’m sort of the technology guy for the Rebellion.”

“I am Sea Hawk, Master of the Seas, Vanquisher of Monsters and Seeker of Adventure!”

C’yra looks over to Catra, and Catra shrugs, hoping it conveys, _What do I know? He’s not my friend._

Scorpia hugs C’yra, and Catra has to hold in a laugh. “Oh, it’s just so nice to meet you,” C’yra fights the hug, but Catra knows well enough that she’s not getting out until Scorpia is done, “I’m Scorpia, Catra’s best friend, and I’m a hugger!” Scorpia finally lets C’yra go, and Catra has never seen the queen so disheveled.

C’yra looks at everyone around her and stops on Adora. “And we have the legendary She-Ra.”

“Oh, um,” Adora gets nervous all of a sudden, and Catra watches her do that thing she does where she looks everywhere except at the person she’s talking to, “Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s Adora. When I’m not She-Ra.”

C’yra notices the way Catra watches Adora. It’s different than the way she watches everyone else. She watches everyone else with disinterest, or, when she watches Scorpia, it’s with amusement and something deeper than tells C’yra that the two are friends.

Catra watches Adora with longing and guilt and betrayal. It’s no different than the way Adora watches Catra, only Adora’s gaze holds some sadness in it too.

“Well,” C’yra says to the group, “Welcome to my village. You’re free to stay for as long as you need.” She receives thanks from the group and then says, “If you’d like, I can show you where you can sleep.”

The group follows after C’yra, Bow and Glimmer talking excitedly and Scorpia pointing out different things to Sea Hawk. She glances back at Catra every now and then, though, just to make sure that she’s really there and alive.

Adora falls into step alongside Catra without meaning to. She snuck glances over at her ex-best friend every now and then and notices the differences. Her new clothes that seem to fit her better. How she looks comfortable here among the trees. The easy sway of her tail.

Adora doesn’t know what exactly Catra found here, but she thinks that it’s been really good for Catra.

“You can stop staring, you know.”

“Sorry. It’s just,” Adora thinks over what she wants to say, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without a Horde uniform.”

“Maybe you should think of getting something new,” Catra says, “Why do you even still wear that when you’re a part of the Rebellion?”

“I don’t know,” Adora pulls at the collar of her jacket, “It’s comfortable, and they’re easy to fight in.”

“Yeah, because it was made for a soldier.”

“I _am_ a soldier,” Adora says like it’s obvious, “Even as She-Ra, I’m still a soldier.”

C’yra stops at the first room and waves Bow and Sea Hawk in, and Catra sees the two run and immediately hop on one of the beds. Catra wonders why C’yra doesn’t stop them, but she just watches C’yra roll her eyes and move on.

She opens the next room and says, “Little-Micah and Adora-When-Not-She-Ra, this is you.”

Adora looks back at Catra before pulling a glaring Glimmer into their room. Catra can already hear the two talking, and one of them laughs.

“For you Scorpia, I figured you could room with Catra,” C’yra says, “Since we don’t exactly have unlimited space here.”

“That’s perfect!”

Catra glares at C’yra from behind Scorpia.

“Before you two go, could I have a word, Catra?”

Catra wants to say no. She’s been avoiding C’yra for days, and she still isn’t sure she’s even ready to talk about what she found out.

She’s not sure she will ever be ready to talk about it.

“Uh, yeah,” Catra moves from behind Scorpia, “Sure.”

C’yra pulls them off to the side, and Catra is worried until she sees C’yra smirk.

“You have nice friends.”

“They’re _not_ my friends.”

“Yeah?” She smiles over Catra’s head at Scorpia, “Because I saw her hug you on the beach, and I’ve been sparring with you since you got here. I know you could’ve put more effort into getting out of her hold.”

Catra’s ears flatten against her head, “Yeah, well, the others aren’t my friends.”

“Then why did she ask for their help to rescue you?”

“Because—” 

Actually, Catra isn’t exactly sure why Scorpia went to the Rebellion for help.

“I don’t know, but they’re not my friends.”

“Okay, kitten,” C’yra ruffles Catra’s hair, “I’ll come get you and your not-friends when it’s time for dinner.”

Catra didn’t even have time to protest before C’yra was halfway down the hall.

~*~

Felix joins them for dinner, happily introducing himself to everyone and apologizing for having not met them sooner, stating that, “There was a library emergency that needed attending to.”

C’yra rolls her eyes and tells him that finding a new book to read didn’t count as an emergency. 

Conversation flows easily, and Catra sits on the edge trying not to pay attention.

She shouldn’t be surprised when the topic changes to the war between the Horde and the Rebellion.

Glimmer gushes about how the Rebellion has become so much more powerful with She-Ra on their side, and Catra gets that same sour feeling in her stomach anytime Adora’s powerful princess alter ego is mentioned.

She notices Adora watching her as Glimmer talks, but she doesn’t acknowledge it past a quick glance.

As they talk about the Battle of Bright Moon and other recent wins over the Horde, Catra pushes herself up from the table and leaves the dining area without looking back.

She finds the tallest branch she can find among the trees the village is built on and curls up, looking up at the clear blank night sky. 

She’s left alone far longer than she expects to be before she years footsteps making their way up to her. She expects it to be Scorpia, or even Felix, but the footsteps that are climbing up the tree trunk are far too familiar.

Adora huffs out a breath as she pulls herself up onto the branch below Catra. “Do you think next time you could choose somewhere with less climbing?”

“What are you doing here?”

Adora straddles the branch and looks up at Catra, “You sort of stormed away from dinner. Felix and Scorpia offered to come find you, but I knew where you’d be, so I offered.”

“No, Adora. Why are you on Beast Island?”

“Oh.” Adora stands on the branch and jumps up to grasp the branch Catra is sitting on. She pulls herself up before straddling the branch facing Catra. “I don’t really know, I guess. Scorpia came to Bright Moon and told us you were here and that she needed help rescuing you, and I couldn’t say no.”

“Why?”

“Because, Catra, we may have spent the past few months on opposite sides of a war, but I didn’t stop caring about you,” Adora says like it’s obvious, “I wasn’t going to just leave you on Beast Island to die.”

Her words set something off in Catra, and she doesn’t know how she’s supposed to feel. Adora’s words make her feel warm, but Adora’s presence makes her still feel anger simmering just below the surface. 

It’s a strange dichotomy to feel.

“Turns out you didn’t really need saving, huh?” Adora says, looking up at the sky.

“Guess not.”

They both watch the sky above them, neither really knowing what to say. Catra catches Adora sneaking glances at her every now and then, and she sneaks some glances of her own.

She already knew the Rebellion changed Adora, but she never really got to see just how much up close. Adora looks like she holds the weight of the world on her shoulders now, even without that dumb sword on her back, and Catra can see the signs of exhaustion everyone else probably misses.

Like the bags under Adora’s eyes and her posture that isn’t as ramrod straight as usual.

“I’m really sorry, Catra.”

“What for?”

“For being so selfish growing up.” Adora whispers, “And for making you feel like you were second best. And for not understanding why you couldn’t just drop all allegiances to come with me to the Rebellion.”

“That’s a lot of things.”

“I have a lot of things to be sorry for.”

“You’re not the only one.”

Adora pulls her eyes from the sky and watches Catra curl even further into herself.

“You were just so easy to blame. I mean, Shadow Weaver always needed you to be the best, and she always gave you all this praise. She treated you like you were actually her daughter. She treated me like I was the cat she didn’t want to take in.”

Catra still remembers her first memory of Shadow Weaver. She had messed up one small thing in a training simulation, and Shadow Weaver grabbed her by her scruff, pulled her down the hall, and threw her into one of the isolation chambers.

She spent an entire day in there.

She was only five.

“Right before I was sent here, I thought I finally gained her respect, and she manipulated me, just like she always does.” Catra can still feel Shadow Weaver’s hand on the fur under her ear, the only sort of affection Shadow Weaver ever offered her, and she wishes she could scrub the feeling away.

Catra should’ve known it was all just to use her.

“And I blamed you for everything she ever did to me, because you were her golden child.”

It isn’t exactly a sorry, but it’s a confession of what she did wrong.

Adora knows her well enough to know that sorry will come when it comes, if she just gives Catra a chance to speak.

“I hated you when you left, because it only got worse, but I shouldn’t have hated you. I should’ve hated Shadow Weaver. I _do_ hate Shadow Weaver.”

Adora hand rests on Catra’s shoulder, and she starts rubbing up and down Catra’s arm like she used to do when they were younger. Catra sinks into the familiar comfort, closing her eyes and allowing a soft purr to rumble.

“You’ve had some week, haven’t you?”

Catra cracks an eye open to see Adora smiling at her for the first time since they were in the First Ones temple. “You have no idea.”

Adora moves her hand up to scratch behind Catra’s ear, and Catra can’t help leaning into the touch.

“Do you want to head back down? Everyone’s worried.”

“One more minute?”

“Okay,” Adora breathes out, “One more minute.”

~*~

Catra is almost asleep, curled up on the comfy mat C’yra gave her since there was only one bed, when Scorpia breaks the silence.

“So, Adora went to go find you after you left dinner.”

Catra hums a yes, hoping that Scorpia won’t continue her line of questioning.

She isn’t so lucky.

“Did you work things out?”

Catra rolls onto her back and finds Scorpia easily in the dark. She’s on her side, looking down at Catra with curiosity.

“I think we have a little more to work out than can be covered in half an hour.”

“Did you two at least start?”

Catra expects Scorpia to be angry or jealous or any other negative emotion, but when she looks at her friend, she sees a bit of hope underneath her caring expression.

“Yeah,” Catra finds herself feeling hopeful too, “I think we did.”

~*~

C’yra and Felix pull her away from everyone else during breakfast, and they lead her to C’yra’s office.

The same place she learned the truth about who she is.

They sit her down across the desk and she feels like a child being scolded.

She wonders if that’s what’s going to happen.

“Don’t look so worried, Catra,” C’yra says, “We just brought you in here because we figured you wouldn’t want to talk about this in front of everyone else.”

“Talk about what?”

“Well,” where C’yra keeps a blank, even expression, Felix’s face screams worry, “We know that your friends decided to stay a few days, but after that, they’re going to go back to Bright Moon or Salineas or wherever they live.”

“So?”

“We just want you to know,” Felix tapers off.

“We want you to know that if you want to go with them, you should,” C’yra said, smooth and steady, “We don’t want you to feel like you have to stay here on Beast Island just because of us and what you’ve learned about yourself.”

Catra looks at C’yra and Felix, one steady and the other filled with worry, and realizes that she’s going to have to make a choice.

If she goes back with Scorpia, Adora, and the rest of them, she knows she’s going to have to join the Rebellion. There’s no other option.

If she stays here, she has to admit to herself that she’s what the Horde raised her to hate.

She has to spend time with her _parents._

How weird.

“Is that all you needed from me?”

C’yra and Felix look at one another before C’yra nods, “You’re free to go.”

Catra leaves without saying goodbye.

~*~

Catra isn’t surprised to find all of them at the training grounds. Adora is already facing off against Bow, and the group has gained the attention of the Magicat students who have never seen humans or Etherians before.

She sits on the sidelines and watches them, unwilling at that moment to join in.

Scorpia notices her and breaks away from the group, settling down beside her, definitely too close to follow Catra’s rule about personal space.

“You okay, Wildcat?”

Catra just turns away, her tail flicking in aggravation.

“I could go grab the blanket off your bed and swaddle you again.” Scorpia moves to get up, but Catra stops her with a hand on her claw.

“That really won’t be necessary.”

“You know, you could just open up without me forcing it out of you.”

Scorpia has a point. She’s never given Catra any reason not to trust her. In fact, she’s done nothing but work to earn Catra’s trust, even when Catra was mean and cold to her.

That doesn’t stop Catra from freezing. The last time she opened up to Scorpia, she ended up struggling for breath in Hordak’s sanctum.

That wasn’t Scorpia’s fault, though. That was Hordak’s little imp, and this isn’t the Fright Zone.

“Can I tell you something, and you promise not to tell anyone else?”

Scorpia’s smile looks like it might break her face, and she tries to calm it, but she just can’t stop. “I promise I will not tell a single soul.”

Catra’s sees nothing but trust and loyalty shining in Scorpia’s eyes. She sighs and pulls her knees to her chest. 

“When the Horde conquered Half Moon, they took a bunch of the kids with them. One of those kids was C’yra and Felix’s daughter.”

“The princess?”

“Yeah,” Catra blows a piece of hair out of her face just for something to do, “Which is apparently me.”

Scorpia blinks her eyes at Catra a few times. Then, she starts to get excited. “Oh my gosh! You’re a—” 

“Princess,” comes out warbled around the hand Catra pressed to Scorpia’s mouth to keep her quiet.

“Yeah, and I thought we agreed this was staying between us. Not the entire training yard.”

Scorpia’s sorry comes out muffled, and Catra removes her hand. “It’s just so exciting!” Scorpia says, quiet enough that she won’t draw any attention, “You and I have something in common that isn’t the Horde!”

Catra sinks back into her curled up position.

“You’re not excited about this, are you?” Scorpia asks, moving so that she’s even closer to Catra.

“I don’t really know how to feel about it right now.”

“Well, if you need someone to talk to, you’ve always got me,” Scorpia nudges Catra gently with a smile, “You know, your resident princess friend.”

Catra smiles despite trying to fight it off, “Yeah, whatever.”

It comforts her though, because Scorpia is a princess and still a now-former Force Captain and just herself.

If Scorpia can do it, it can’t _that_ bad.

~*~

Catra finds herself alone with Adora again towards the end of the day. Bow and Glimmer decided to go off into the forest, and Sea Hawk and Scorpia were trading stories in the dining area, so Catra decides to spend some time in the library.

Apparently, Adora has the same idea.

Catra steadies Adora as she almost falls while trying to get a book off one of the higher shelves.

“You know, there are stools, so you don’t have to almost die reaching a book.”

“I thought I could reach it.” Adora goes and grabs a stool, reaching the book without any problem now.

“What are you even killing yourself over?”

Adora shows her the cover, “I asked Felix if the library has anything about She-Ra, and he told me about this book. Apparently, the Half Moon queen at the time was really good friends with She-Ra Mara, and this book is the queen’s journal.”

“Really? Which one?”

Adora opens the book and reads through it a bit before saying, “Queen Katriska.”

“Oh, Felix told me about her. Her nickname to those who knew her was the Peacekeeper.”

Adora takes the book over to one of the nearby tables to read it, and Catra follows.

“It might give me insight as to what happened with Mara,” Adora swings her legs over the bench and looks up at Catra still standing by the table, “What are you doing in the library? I never really thought you were much of a bookworm.”

Catra shrugs, “It’s quiet in here.”

Adora just nods and opens up the journal again. Catra sits down beside her and thinks of getting up to get some paper but decides to rest her head on the table and close her eyes instead. 

She’s about half asleep when she feels Adora’s nails start to scratch right behind her ear absentmindedly.

It makes Catra feel nostalgic. Instead of being in the library in the Magicats’ village, she’s back in the Fright Zone, napping curled up next to Adora while Adora studies for a test or memorized new information. Adora would always get so focused that she would mindlessly reach out and scratch behind Catra’s ear to have something to do with her hands while she read.

For just a moment, it erases everything horrible thing that’s happened between them in the last few months, and they’re just like they used to be.

Catra lets it put her to sleep, only waking up when her subconscious feels the contact stop.

She lifts her head up to see Adora holding in laughter.

“What?” Catra asks, rubbing at her eyes.

“I forgot how loud you purr,” Adora says through silent laughter, “I’m pretty sure the entire library was shaking.”

Catra shoves Adora, “It’s your fault.”

“My fault?” Adora shoves her back playfully, “How is it my fault?”

“You did the ear thing!” Catra notices a few of the scholars glaring at them from the other tables and doesn’t shove Adora again. “You know the ear thing always makes me purr,” Catra accuses softly, “It was your evil plan all along.”

Adora rolls her eyes, “Right. My plan to take down Hordak’s big, bad, second-in-command was to scratch her behind her ears and make her start a mini-earthquake in a library on Beast Island.”

“I knew it!”

Catra gets shushed this time, and she sticks her tongue out at the scholar who did it.

When she looks back at Adora, she’s gone from teasing to worried. “Was that okay?” She asks, her fingers twisting, “I didn’t mean to. It’s just, I was reading and you were here and I guess my body ran on autopilot.”

Catra cuts off Adora’s growing ramble by grabbing onto Adora’s wrist. “When did we get so unsure around one another?”

“Probably right around the time I turned against the Horde in Thaymor.” 

“Now look at us. The Traitor and the Disgraced.”

“I always thought we were going to be First and Second-in-Command.”

“You’d be my second, obviously.”

Adora rolls her eyes with a smile, “Obviously.”

Catra looks down and notices that she’s still holding onto Adora’s wrist, and Adora hasn’t pulled away.

She doesn’t want Adora to pull away.

She wants Adora closer.

She drops Adora’s wrist, “Plus, I’m the one who actually climbed through the ranks, and I didn’t have a magic sword to help.”

“Well, you were always the more impressive one.” Adora doesn’t say it as a joke. She’s completely sincere, and Catra looks at her in disbelief.

“You can’t actually believe that.”

“Of course, I do,” Adora doesn’t even look up from her book, “Climbing the ranks is easy when you’re constantly praised. It’s harder to do when you’re constantly being told you aren’t good enough, and you showed everyone else that you _are_ good enough.” She looks up from her book then and smiles at a wide-eyed Catra, “Besides, you’re the one who actually took down Shadow Weaver. Even with She-Ra, the best I could do was defend myself.”

Something warm courses through Catra’s blood, and it tingles pleasantly at Adora’s words. She could do something about, maybe think about what the warmth’s meaning, but she just sets her head back down on the table, and Adora’s nails go back to scratching right behind her ear.

~*~

The next few days pass by quickly. Catra spends most of her time around Scorpia, letting the Best Friend Squad + Sea Hawk do their own thing.

Every day, though, her and Adora find themselves somewhere all on their own, and things don’t magically get better. They aren’t immediately back where they were before. They are still mess ups and fumbling questions of, “Is this okay?” and second guessing, but over the days, Catra starts to feel less angry, and Adora starts to feel less guilty.

The night before they’re set to leave, all of them are discussing their plans.

Catra doesn’t say anything as they talk about when to leave and what the weather is supposed to be like for their trip.

Not until Bow looks at her and asks, “You’re coming back with us, aren’t you, Catra?”

“No.”

“What?” Glimmer looks at Catra like Catra just said something impossible, “Why not?”

Catra can feel Scorpia beside her reel up to defend her, but it’s Adora who jumps in first.

“Just because Catra was sent here doesn’t mean she has to automatically join the Rebellion.”

Catra is surprised to hear Adora say that, especially since it was always Adora begging Catra to leave the Horde for the Rebellion.

They really had grown to understand one another again in such a short time.

“Will you stay here?” Bow asks, trying to simmer Glimmer’s frustration.

Catra nods, “I want to learn more about where I came from.” _And more about what being a princess means._

Bow smiles, “I think that’s great.”

Scorpia wraps a claw around Catra’s shoulder, and Catra doesn’t even try to fight it. “It _is_ great!”

Adora smiles across the table at her as she rolls her eyes at the sheer amount of cheer around her.

~*~

Scorpia hugs her tight and keeps her close the next morning.

“Oh, Wildcat, I’m going to miss you so much! I wish I could send you letters and tell you all about my new, thrilling adventures with the Rebellion. Sea Hawk and I are going to go on adventures all the time, and I think we can get Entrapta to re-switch sides too.”

Scorpia keeps rambling about all the new adventures the Rebellion has to offer, and Catra lets her. 

If she’s being honest, she’s going to miss this. Maybe not the invasion of personal space, but Scorpia in general.

The person who was there for her when she couldn’t even be there for herself.

Catra returns the hug for the first time, and she can practically feel Scorpia’s happiness rolling off of her.

“Stay safe, okay?”

Scorpia lets her go, “You too.”

Catra rolls her eyes, “Yeah, because there are so many dangers on Beast Island.”

Scorpia gives her one last smile before going to help Sea Hawk load a few things onto the boat. Bow and Glimmer are working to untie the sails and get the boat ready to sail.

Adora is still left on the sand, watching her friends work.

Catra goes over to her, “Hey, Adora.”

Adora turns and smiles, “Hey, Catra.”

Catra nods to the forests that line the beach, “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Yeah, of course.”

She follows Catra just beyond the tree line, far enough away that her friends can’t hear or see them, but close enough that she can still see Sea Hawk struggling with something and Scorpia picking it up and hauling it onto the ship easily.

“What’s up?” Adora asks, because Catra looks nervous all of a sudden.

“It’s just, I realized that I never actually said sorry,” Catra says softly, “You said sorry for leaving and assuming, and I never said sorry for everything that I did.”

“Hey,” Adora rests her hands on Catra’s shoulders, “It’s okay, Catra.”

“Is it?”

Adora runs her thumb over the soft, short fur of Catra’s ear, “It will be.” She says it with unwavering doubt, and even though Catra’s afraid of something bad happening, in this moment, she believes Adora. 

Adora keeps running her thumb over Catra’s ear, and that same warm feeling returns, the one she’s been getting anytime it’s just been her and Adora together, and Catra isn’t completely dense. She knows what this feeling means, but now isn’t the time or place.

Then again, Catra’s always been far too impulsive.

Catra pulls Adora closer and kisses her, and Adora immediately cups Catra’s face to bring her closer. The kiss only lasts a few seconds, but to them it feels like an eternity, and then only break apart because they hear Bow and Glimmer calling for Adora.

“Half Moon has a princess,” Catra says quickly before Adora’s friends can find them, “You’ll need her to complete the Princess Alliance, right?”

“Yeah, but who is she? Why didn’t we meet her?”

Catra takes the plunge. “You did. You came to Beast Island to save her.”

Adora’s eyes go wide at the confession.

“Give me time,” Catra says, watching over Adora’s shoulder as Bow and Glimmer start to wander closer to the forest’s edge, “When I’m ready, I’ll find a way to get back to you, okay?”

“Okay.”

Adora gives her one last kiss before coming out of the forest.

Catra takes a moment before coming down to sit on the sand. Scorpia waves to her as the boat starts to drift out, and Catra waves back until she can’t see them anymore.

“So,” C’yra says, and Catra turns to see her leaning up against one of the trees, Felix just behind her, “You decided to stay.”

“I did.”

“Why?” Felix asks, ever the curious scholar.

Catra smiles at them.

Her parents.

“This is just where I need to be right now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, everyone! There you go. That's my pretty basic idea of how I think this story arc is going to go (maybe not so rushed, but bear with me. Scorpia and Adora thought Catra might be dying on Beast Island).
> 
> Also, I realize that most of the fics I read have just Catra's mom alive or no one alive, and I'm gonna give my girl two loving wonderful parents after what Shadow Weaver did to her.
> 
> There may also be a second to this of Catra in the village after the Best Friend Squad + Sea Hawk + Scorpia leave. Let me know if you'd be interested, or any other fic ideas!
> 
> Have any theories that are different than mine? Want to tell me mine is all wrong? Let me know in the comments! If Tumblr is more your speed, you can find me at hellofromthe-otter-slide (because, like Bow, I think my puns are very funny).
> 
> Until next fic!


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